Translates to English: May there be happiness in all, May there be peace in all, May there be completeness in all, May there be success in all, OM, Peace, Peace Peace, OM

Thank you, Tina Turner, for recording this sacred chant and I send prayers for your own healing and for us all to be at peace while we heal, live, take actions for ourselves and make compassionate and kind deeds for others and as we transition. Namaste

Learn to use this practical, hands-on method for a happier and healthier life. Please click the link below to read about the Jin Shin Jyutsu Practice called the Finger Holds by clicking the link below. I have an earlier post on March 11, 2015, with a YouTube video showing how to practice the Finger Holds. Remember to breathe while practicing. Practice often, every day for benefits to build, emotions balanced and more. Please share this easy Practice for well-being with others. Here’s to your good health! Namaskaram OM

Here’s a short article and video from Sadhguru that helps us understand that we should not be too focused on our physical limitations but rather submit totally to being in our sadhana/yoga practice. This is so reassuring for us aging Yoginis who are dedicated to our sadhana! The Blessings are constant in different ways at different points in our lives. Thanks Sadhguru for your wisdom and for sharing with us and thanks for the Isha Foundation and volunteers that deliver so much media as virtual Darshan with us. Namaskaram.

Do click the red link below to read the article and to view a minute long video, please share freely. OM

Sadhguru explains what can be done if parts of the body feel as if they are not cooperating.

Here’s a film on Youtube that is about 70 minutes long. It’s quite interesting about the phenomenon of Yogis, do we need them, are they gifted enlightened beings. There is an underlying question that we all can ask ourselves can we find the answers that we need within self. A Teacher can offer us lessons, practice, tools, skills….but what really motivates us to put any or all of what we seek to learn into our lives? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below and share with others. Namaste….OM

Today I saw a post on FaceBook by “Uplift/Connect” an article by Brian DeGregory entitled “Is the essence of yoga being lost in the self-obsessed Instagram age?” In the section about “Please stop Yoga Selfies” he writes….”I don’t think this helps bring this beautiful and ancient practice to those who need it most. In fact, I think it sends intimidating messages to those who might feel their bodies are not flexible or that they don’t have the perfect “yoga body” (like the way social media images portray). It’s a big call, but I will even go as far as comparing the aspect of posting such images with the fashion companies who only use size 0 models. It’s just not what yoga is supposed to be about.”…Yoga is for spiritual development, not for show.”

Thank you Brian DeGregory for having the understanding about real authentic Yoga and the courage to publish your views. Many in the west are so unconnected and do not know the ancient Indian lineage or that it is one of the best gifts one culture has given to All of mankind. As well, most are not learning authentic practices for if they would know it, they surely would be inherently bound to respect it. I teach yoga in a variety of settings one is a New York State public college, my courses are for college credit in a liberal arts degree setting. My young and energetic students are confused when they begin the semester arriving in what looks like beach apparel or sexy fitness outfits. I know its not their fault as those who have commercialized Yoga to become “Americanized” have set this tone. Oftentimes students drop my course as they cannot bare to wear modest clothing as they prefer their sexy garb. (Don’t worry, these slots are filled in days by the other eager students on waitlists!) What I try to get across is that this is a highly intimate and revolutionary process they are journeying on and it should not be denigrated by peering voyoueristic eyes of their classmates or passerbys. The process is highly internal using the body as an external tool to balance the many energetic patterns within the physicality, the mental and emotional realms so they can find momentary stillness and harmony. I have the privilege to witness this amazing process and am in awe every time and am most humbled by it! So, of course I am shocked when I see my FaceBook Friends who are students and fellow yoga practitioners posting Yoga Asana Selfies! This just pollutes and devalues their power by sharing these images. I would so much rather they posted in text how their yoga sadhana has helped them cope with their hectic schedules, to complete their degrees with high grades, reduced their need for asthma meds, or other meds for depression, anxiety, or prevented surgery for scoliosis or back pains, or prevented them for causing bodily harm to their boss and avoided being arrested when asked to work another shift after having worked the entire weekend missing their child’s T-ball game for not even a cent more in wages! Many are limited in their yoga journey by poorly trained yoga teachers who earn “certificates” in a couple of 16 hour workshops, or Teachers who feel their Egocentric experience supersedes that of The AdiYogi – Shiva, and Shri Patanjali, (do you think they even know who these Greats were?) I have been fortunate to have studied in many sacred and esteemed schools and ashrams in India. I was afforded these experiences by my private students and one super /yoga practitioner/ patron and my family. This may be out of reach economically for yoga teachers across the board but The Isha Foundation has an Ashram/Campus in Tennessee in the USA. At Isha, one is afforded a truly authentic classical Indian yoga immersion. Please do check out their website: http://www.ishafoundation.org and join their mailing lists and like their Facebook pages to get daily inspirational offerings, event announcements, newsletters than have wonderful informative articles about authentic yoga. I remain indebted to all my teachers, Gurus and especially to Sadhguru and The Isha Foundation for creating such an accessible many layered platform to spread the yogic knowledge globally.

The images above show above: The AdiYogi (Shiva) being consecrated in India by Sadhguru and the Isha Volunteers. Shiva is the Founding Father of All Yoga. The next images are here to try to show a tiny glimmer of what may happen when we balance our energies in a conscious manner along with and becoming apart and no longer separate from nature.

Watch the ‘Yoga for Change’ Film at: http://www.upliftconnect.com/yoga-for-change-video.com once on their site look for article, “Practicing Real Yoga in the Age of Selfies” you will find the video at end of the article….please share and thanks to Uplift/Connect for sharing these important views. Namaskaram

There are several types of Classical Yoga and Nath Yoga is one that still keeps to the traditional ways. Thanks to the Graces of Ashwin Mohan who shares with us a Prescription for Inner Strength and Vital Living via activating Naga Vayu. Naga Yama is a powerful visualization in which we begin to plant the seeds for our future growth, well being and successes. These seeds are our thoughts which become our activities and actions that play out our Vision. We come to understand that these seeds are our valuable energy source for expansion and fuels our goals and Vision, moving forward in our real life timeline. By re-visiting our Vision often as Affirmation we continue to project ourselves positively within our Vision in space in time as a protective shield for inner and outer benefits. I love when he shares that just by sitting back and accepting the status quo and being numb is for rats! We can choose to just maintain or grow! Checking in with our Vision and supporting it with Affirmations helps us to know where we are which determines where we can go. Thanks to Ashwin Mohan in Bangalore, India for sharing these secrets with us, he has given permission for All to share….so please spread this post with all who you care about, especially children and young adults….and most importantly do give him a “thumbs UP” on the Youtube link….of course he would love to hear your comments too! Adesa Adesa…..Namaskaram OM!

In January, in Jaipur, India there has been for many years now an amazing Literature Festival. The Jaipur Literature Festival presents many authors of numerous genres in a variety of forums. I have always wanted to be in attendance but being a Professor in a New York college requires me to be present as we begin the semester at this time. Thank goodness for the internet and more so, YouTube, as I can watch almost all the hours of the 4 or 5 days long Festival. So I take my time listening and listing all the authors and their titles that are new and interesting. Presented are authors who write in English, and a variety of languages, a majority of the authors are from or writing about the southeast asian experience. However, there are many authors from different countries, who are invited and involved in panels wherein they explore similar and different approaches to ideas which is so fascinating. I know just one author Mridula Garg, who has attended often and presented as well, sometimes we touch base and she fills me in about what I have missed. Today I listened to this video and was quite blown away by Devdutt Pattanaik, he is a master of many intellectual and scientific disciplines. His presentation and perspective is quite direct, powerful, inclusive and so much more, I intend to listen to as many of his videos….but this short one about two minutes is such an excellent explanation of this iconic sculpture The Dance of Shiva, Nataraja. We learn and practice the asana Natarajasana in hatha yoga, the image is plastered on yoga tee shirts, yoga bags, posters and more here in western yoga studios, but how much do we really understand about the significance. Studying classical Indian hatha yoga and staying connected to authentic Indian Yogic organizations that support and protect the ancient teachings is very important to me as a yoga practitioner and teacher. I think this is what differentiates my practice from commercial American yoga, I know just from the experience of the sadhana/practice, that it is not really about the physical body. In the classical tradition the body is useful to a small degree to activate the experience to higher realms of awareness so that I begin to understand how small and insignificant I am, it helps me to tame my ego….as Mr. Pattanaik states…..”our minds forget the fundamentals of life that nature is spectacular,”….Also, I learn through experience in my yoga that I am a part of nature and it is limitless the restrictions are just in my little insignificant mind, but yes this mind is useful to learn, to teach, to write this to you, but in the scope of the universe….not so important….in the solitude and quietness of my practice I feel settled calming my crazy mind to be okay with this all and to feel the pulse of my breath as an echo of the universe and that is spectacular!

And, yes there are many different interpretations, different stories about Shiva as Nataraj, this is just one, but very well stated by Mr. Pattanaik. (When I visited the Temple at Chidambaram, in Tamil Nadu, India, (with Vinodhini and the Late Radha Kant Jha, I was told that all the images carved on the temple pillars were the thousands of asanas that Shiva assumed when he was upset with his Consort, (Parvati or also known as Shakti – the Supreme Goddess), so instead of verbally lashing out or physically lashing her he used his anger and upset to create a dance or choreography of the upset experiences…..compassion at its best? What could she say to that!….what an Art form….Yogasanas the Art of Living Well. And we all have benefitted from the energy of the misunderstanding in just one “time” during this relationship, superb creativity dances for thoughts, excellent documentation temple pillars that have stood for thousands of years. Thanks be to Parvati for motivating Shiva to respond with such creativity and to Mr. Devdutt Pattanaik for sharing his knowledge with us all. Thanks to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City for allowing visitors like me to take pictures of a Nataraj sculpture.

Please do yourself a favor and click the link just under the picture to have a listen….do share this with others….stay open and receptive to ideas…..Namaskaram…..OM